Understanding Gravitational Waves

Chris Kitchin is currently Professor Emeritus at the University of Hertfordshire and a freelance writer of astrophysics books. From 1987 to 2001, he was director of the university's observatory at Bayfordbury, and from 1996 to 2001, he was also head of the Division of Physics and Astronomy. He took early retirement in 2001 in order to concentrate on his writing, and the seventh edition of his widely used Astrophysical Techniques was published in August 2020. Chris has written fourteen books and contributed to another dozen or so and he has written hundreds of articles ranging from popular astronomy to specialist research. In 1997, he was awarded the title of Professor of the Public Understanding of Astronomy.

• Chapter 1. 14th September 2015.- Chapter 2. Gravity – From 850,000,000 BCE to 1915 CE.- Chapter 3. Gravity - From 1915 - through Today - and on towards Tomorrow.- Chapter 4. Gravitational Waves – The Long, Long Journey from Half-Seen Chimeras to Highly Studied Certainties.- Chapter 5. Gravitational Waves – Origins and Sources.- Chapter 6. Gravitational Wave Events – Calling the Roll.- Chapter 7. Into the Unknown - the First Years of the Quest for Gravitational Waves.- Chapter 8. Eureka! – A Beginner’s Guide to Making Successful Gravitational Wave Detectors.- Chapter 9. Gravitational Waves and their Detectors - Into the Future - and Beyond.

“The material covered and the manner of presentation are at a level somewhat higher than those of the typical popular-science book aimed at the ‘interested lay reader’. … The book also describes all the major GW detectors currently active, as well as many projects planned or under-development. The writing is fluid, the physical book is nicely typeset and very readable … . I think many readers would enjoy and learn much from this book.” (Jonathan Thornburg, The Observatory, Vol. 142 (1291), December, 2022)